THE curtain has risen on a Clydebank teenager’s wish to pursue a career in the theatre.

Nineteen-year-old Phoebe Byrne is over the moon to have been selected from nationwide auditions for youngsters to form the Scottish Youth Theatre National Ensemble 2019.

After auditioning young hopefuls in Inverness, Dundee, Stirling, Edinburgh and Glasgow, the youth theatre has unveiled the 20 talented young people who will form next year’s national group – and Phoebe has made the final line-up.

Phoebe applied along with 110 other young people to join the 2019 national company and she met her fellow company members for the first time last weekend.

Launched in 2017, the Scottish Youth Theatre National Ensemble is a company made up of young people aged 16 to 25 who have displayed great potential as theatre makers.

The experience lasts a year and participants will collaborate with professional theatre practitioners, including lead artist Brian Ferguson, to develop their skills. In the summer, they will work intensively for five weeks to devise a piece of work which they will tour with in July.

Phoebe said: “Being a part of the ensemble gives me a platform to create work that I am passionate about. I think we are on the brink of a great change in how we use and view theatre.

“As artists we have a responsibility to use theatre to voice our opinions and create discussion on social issues – the National Ensemble creates an opportunity for young people to do this. I can’t wait to get started.”

The theatre’s creative producer, Mahri Reilly, said: “Selecting the 2019 company was an inspirational but challenging process. It was really difficult to whittle the company down to 20.

“Pheobe showed an enormous amount of potential and we can’t wait to see how she develops as an artist.”

Scottish Youth Theatre is currently raising funds for its tour and anyone interested in donating are encouraged to get in touch by emailing enquiries@scottishyouththeatre.org